Printing machine



Jan 2, 1934.

H. E. HUBBARD PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 10, 1929' 11 Sheets-Sheet H. E. HUBBARD Jan. 2, 1934.

PRINTING MACHINE 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 10 Jan. 2, 1934. H. E. HUBBARD PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 10, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 4 H. E. HUBBARD PRINTING MACHINE Jan. 2, 1934.

Filed June 10 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 2, 1934. H. E. HUBBARD PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 10, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 6 mdEmmI nth FEED

H. E. HUBBARD PRINTING MACHINE Jan. 2, 1934.

Filed June 10 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 7 H. E. HUBBARD 1,941,685

PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 10, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 8 Jan. 2, 1934.

H. E. HUBBARD PRINTING MACHINE Jan. 2, 1934.

Filed June 10, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 9 malm Q RS. E21 2E 25: Qv

kumklm 1.22m

O O "I H. E. HUBBARD PRINTING MACHINE Jan. 2, 1934.

Filed June 10, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 11 9 2.: D. YEW

Patented Jan. 2 1934 ilhliTEi) STATES PATENT GFFICE PRINTING MACHINE Application June 10, 1929. Serial No. 369,559

22 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in printing machines of the kind through which printing devices bearing type characters are passed successively to print on a sheet.

The primary object of my invention is to print the type characters on the sheet in transposed relation to their arrangement on the printing device.

A further object is to automatically select the characters on the printing device in the order in which they are to be printed and to print the characters on the sheet in the order of selection and in different relation to their arrangement on the printing device.

A further object is to automatically delay the movement of the next succeeding printing device until the several printing operations of the selected characters on a printing device have been completed.

A further object is to print the characters from the several printing devices in listed arrangement on the sheet with the lines of characters from each printing device printed in alignment transversely of the sheet.

Other objects of my invention appear hereinafter.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a machine embodying my invention, showing the printing plate 30 feeding mechanism and the paper sheet feeding mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a view of the right side of the machine in the direction of the arrows on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing principally the printing plate feeding mechanism;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section on the line 44 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 8 through the sheet carriage;

Fig. '7 is a similar view on the line '7'7 of Fig. 8 showing the parts in different operative relation;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged top plan view of the front portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1, showing the plate transposing mechanism and the sheet carriage shift mechanism;

Figs. 9, and 11 are top plan views similar to Fig. 8 but diagrammatic in form showing the parts in different stages of their operation;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged transverse view through the printing bed on the line 12 12 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 13 is a detail section of a modification of the printing plate engaging fingers;

Fig. 14 is a view of a portion of a printed sheet showing the information printed in transposed relation to its arrangement on the printing plate; and

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing a modified form of carriage shifting mechanism.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 a machine is shown in which my invention is embodied. This machine has a suitable main frame 1 comprising in general the legs connected by cross members, and a top 2. Mounted on the top of the frame at the rear corner is a suitable motor 3 which drives, by means of a belt 4, a large pulley 5 mounted in the lower part of the frame. This pulley drives a small pulley 6 which in turn drives the .fiy wheel 7 by means of the belt 8. The fly wheel is mounted on a shaft 9 and drives a crank 10 from which the various operating parts are driven through a medium of a connecting rod 11. The connecting rod 11 is pivotally connected at 12 to the lower end of an oscillating frame 13 so that when the crank is rotated the frame 13 will be swung or oscillated about its pivotal connection 14 with the main frame Fig. 2.

The platen arm 15 is positioned above the table top to swing toward and from the printing bed for the purpose of impressing the sheet and inking ribbon into engagement with the printing plates. This platen arm is mounted to rock on a shaft 16 as a pivot and has a downwardly extending arm 17 carrying a roller 18 which rides in a slotted cam 13 on the oscillating frame 13 whereby as the frame 13 is oscillated about its pivot it imparts the proper rocking motion to the platen arm. The platen arm is mounted on its shaft 16 adjacent the right side of the main frame but it has a laterally extended portion, Fig. 1, which positions the platen head 15' over the printing position and in proper relation thereto.

The platen head 15 carries a platen roller 19, Fig. 3, which is mounted in a frame 20 adapted to reciprocate horizontally on the guide 21 so that when the platen roller is brought down into contact with the printing plates it is moved on the guide to apply a rolling pressure to the sheet. Upon the upward of return stroke of the platen arm the roller is restored to its normal position.

The platen roller receives its reciprocating motion from the rocker lever 22 through a medium of a link 23 which is connected to the frame 20 and the rocker 22. The rocker lever 22 is mounted upon and receives its motion from the rock shaft 24 journaled in suitable bearings on the platen arm. The rock shaft 24 has an arm 26, Figs. 1 and 2, which is pivotally connected to and operated by a link 2'7. The lower end of link 27 is pivotally connected at 28 to an arm 29 loosely mounted on shaft 16. A link 30 extends from the pivotal point 28 to a lever 31 pivoted on the rocker arm at one end and this lever has an arm which is connected by a coil spring 32 anchored to the platen arm. The arm 29 and the link 30 form a toggle, and when the arm 29 is swung upwardly during the down stroke of the platen, the pivotal point 23 is carried beyond a center line through the shaft 16 and the pivotal connection of the link 30 with the lever 31, and the spring 32 acts to complete the movement of the platen roller and hold the parts in this condition until the toggle is broken during the return stroke of the platen arm. The toggle arm 29 is loose on the shaft 16 but it carries the laterally extending arm 29 which lies in the notch of a collar 35' keyed to the shaft 16. The notch of the collar 35 is wide enough to permit considerable play of the arm 29 relatively to the collar but when the collar 35 is rotated by the shaft 16 the edges of the notch engage and swing the toggle arm 29 upwardly or downwardly beyond the center as the case may be. The collar 35 and the shaft 16 are rocked by the oscillating frame 13 through the medium of the link 36 and lever 37, Fig. 3, the lever 37 being fastened to the shaft 16.

The printing devices or plates A are arranged in a vertical stack, Figs. 1, 2 and 3, in a magazine 40 positioned on the rear of the table top, and

. from this stack the bottom plates are successively withdrawn and carried forwardly along a guide-- way 41 to the printing bed 42. The printing devices are taken from the stack and fed forward in this guideway by the reciprocating feed bar 43 which is positioned beneath the guideway and the stack and is reciprocated toward and from the printing bed. The feed bar has a plurality of spring feed pawls 44 spaced apart along its length and adapted when the feed bar is moved to the rear to engage the rear edge 44 of the lowermost printing plate in the stack and carry the printing plate forward along the guideway. The printing plates are thus advanced intermittently along the guideway to the printing bed.

The feed bar is operated from the lever 37, Fig. 3. This lever 37 has an extension arm 37 which rocks a lever 44, it being connected to said lever 44 by the link 45. The lever 44 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 45 carried in an arm 46 depending from the machine frame. The lever 44 has an arm 4'? which is adapted to operate a bell crank lever 43 on the shaft 45. The upper end of this bell crank is connected by a link 49 to the feed bar 43. The lower arm of the bell crank has a notched end 50 which is adapted to be engaged by an end of a spring actuated trigger 51 pivotally mounted upon the end of lever arm 4'7. The trigger is normally held in engagement with the notch 50 by the spring 52. This trigger forms a connection through which the motion of the lever arm 47 is imparted to the bell crank for reciprocating the feed bar 43. When said trigger is disengaged from the notched end 50 of the bell crank, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the rocking motion of the lever arm 4'7 will not be transmitted to the feed bar.

If the trigger 51 is allowed to remain in engagement with the bell crank, the feed bar would be operated in proper time with each cycle of operation of the platen arm, and a new plate would be presented in the printing position after each printing stroke of the platen arm. In the present machine, however, the printing plates are not advanced until the several printing operations from the plate on the bed are completed. For this purpose I provide a delaying mechanism which operates to withhold or prevent the operation of the feed bar until the several printing operations f1 om the plate on the bed have been completed, whereupon the feed bar is permitted to operate and advance the next succeeding printing plate to the printing bed.

This delaying mechanism in the present structure, Fig. 3, consists of a ratchet member 53 and a push rod 54. The ratchet is mounted on a shaft 55 in the frame 1 of the machine and it has a plurality of equally spaced teeth 56 on its periphery. The teeth are engaged by a pawl 5'? which is driven in any suitable manner to step the ratchet around one tooth at a time, in timed relation to the platen arm so that each step of the ratchet corresponds to a printing operation of the platen arm. The push rod 54 is supported by a pivotal link 58 which is mounted on an arm 59 on the frame member 1 and the end of the push rod is turned laterally so that it will engage the teeth of the ratchet and ride into and out of said teeth as the ratchet rotates. The other end 54' of the push rod extends to a point where it engages the trigger 51, and, while the end of the push rod rides into and out of the ratchet teeth 56, it operates to hold the trigger disengaged from the notch 50 of the bell crank. The result is that the feed bar will not be operated. The ratchet, however, has a series of deeper notches 53 between certain teeth at intervals, Fig. 3, and when these deeper notches reach the end of the push rod 54 the push rod will be pulled into these notches by the spring 60. This retracts the end of the push rod 54' to release the trigger and allow to engage the notch 50, whereupon the feed bar will be reciprocated to advance the printing plates. In the present structure every fourth step of the ratchet 53 has a deep tooth, consequently a new printing plate will be advanced to the printing bed at every fourth printing operation. By changing the relation of the deep and shallow ratchet teeth the operation of the printing plate feed mechanism may be regulated as desired.

The printing bed 42 is positioned beneath the platen, and an inking ribbon is disposed across the printing bed and arranged so that the printing plates are inserted between the ribbon and the printing bed. Any suitable mechanism for operating the inking ribbon may be employed.

Above the ribbon is a ribbon guard plate 66 having a cut away portion 67, Figs. 1 and 8, sufficiently wide to expose only one line of printing characters on the printing plate. This guard plate locks off the other lines of characters on the printing plate, so that when the sheet is impressed upon the printingplate it will receive the impression of only the exposed line of characters on the printing plate. present machine this opening in the guard plate may be'said to constitute the printing position be- In consequence in the cause the printing plate is selectively shifted with I movement of the printing plates. It is mounted to slide on the guide rods 70, Figs. 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. At the ends of the sub-frame 69 is a large drum '71 and a small drum 72 around which a flat band or belt 73 is adapted to travel. The sheet feed carriage B is fastened to one of the reaches of this belt so that by the rotation of the drums the movement will be imparted to the carriage to shift it on its guide rods.

Means are provided for driving said drum to shift the carriage step by step in one direction for the printing operations. A long coil spring 74, which is anchored at one end to the sub-frame 69 and at its other end to the carriage, is placed under tension during this movement of the carriage and operates to return the carriage to its normal position when the large drum 71 is released from the driving mechanism. It is obvious then that as the sheet carriage is shifted it will present different portions of the sheet S to the printing position in a single line across the sheet, Fig. 14, hence whatever line of the printing plate is present in the printing position it will be printed on the sheet in alignment with respect to the line of characters previously printed on the sheet from the same printing plate.

The printing plates A may be of any kind suitable for the purpose. Those of the type shown more particularly in Figs. 1, 8 and 9, have the printing characters arranged in parallel lines properly spaced apart. They also carry an information card A for filing purposes containing a duplicate of the information represented by the characters. In Fig. 8 the several lines of printing characters are referred to as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th which represent the order in which they are selected for printing upon the sheet S. This order of selection, as will hereinafter appear, may be arranged in accordance with the order in which the information is desired on the sheet S regardless of the arrangement of the lines on the printing plate. The order in which the lines of characters on the printing plates are selected will be the order in which they are reproduced on the sheet, but the impressions onthe sheet will be transposed to a single straight line across the sheet, as shown in Fig. 14. This is repeated with each successive printing plate with the result that the impressions from the printing plates will be arranged in columns lengthwise of the sheet, these columns being designated 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th to indicate the order in which the impressions are made on the sheet.

The selective transposing mechanism comprises a horizontally disposed plate G positioned at one side of the printing plate guideway slight-' ly below the plane of the printing bed so as not to interfere with the feed of the sheet in the machine. The end portions of this transposing plate are elevated slightly above the plane of the printing position and have laterally extending arms '75 Figs. 1, '7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 which overlie the printing plates in the guideway and which are spaced apart on each side of the printing bed. The rear arm 75 of the selector plate has two forwardly extending spring fingers 76, the ends of which are positioned in the path of the moving printing plates to be engaged by said printing plates. The ends of these spring fingers, Fig. 7, have notches 77 which engage the bead A at the edge of the printing plates so as to yieldingly lock the printing plates to the transposing plate. In this structure the spring fingers have notched ends to adapt them for use in connection with printing plates which have beaded or turned edges. If, however, printing plates are used of the type having flat edges without beads or ribs, the modified structure shown in Fig. 13 may be used. In this form the forward selector plate arm 75 also has a set of fingers '76 extending toward the other set of fingers, and the ends 76" of both sets of fingers are beveled to engage the opposing edges of the printing plate. As a printing plate reaches its position on the bed 42 the spring fingers snap over the edges of the printing plate and hold the printing plate in fixed relation to the transposing plate with sufiicient locking engagement to move the printing plate with the transposing plate. However, when the pressure is applied to the plate by the next succeeding plate being fed onto the printing bed, the spring fingers yield to release said printing plate and permit it to be pushed into the downwardly extending chute '78, Figs. 3 and '7. The discharged printing plates then drop into the inclined drawer '79 and are stacked in said drawer by the packer arm 80.

In the preferred construction Figs. 8 to 11, the forward edge 81 of the transposing plate is formed as a cam across its entire width and this cam is adapted to engage a roller 82 carried by an arm 83 extending forwardly from the sheet carriage. The cam edge of the transposing plate is constantly maintained in contact with the roller 82 by a coil spring 84 which is connected at one end 85 to the transposing plate and anchored at its other end 86 to the sub-frame 69. As the roller 82 is moved across the end of the transposing plate by the movement of the sheet carriage, the cam edge of the transposing plate will follow the movement of the roller and shift the transposing plate longitudinally in either direction. The layout of the cam edge is such that its several steps 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, Figs. 8 to 11, correspond to the several lines of printed characters on the printing plates. As the cam and roller engage at any one of these steps the corresponding line of printing characters on the printing plate will be brought into printing position. These steps in the cam, of course, correspond also to the column positions on the printed sheet. In the present structure the cam is so arranged that the bottom line of characters on the plate is printed first, the line next to the bottom is printed 2nd, the top line is printed 3rd, and the 2nd from the top line is printed 4th. By changing the relation of the steps of the cam any desired order of selection of lines may be obtained and this can be conveniently accomplished by providing a number of plates embodying differently formed cams and by changing the plates when different transpositions are desired or required.

Instead of forming the transposing cam on the transposing plate G, the modified structure shown Fig. 15 may be employed. In this modified structure a plate cam G is associated with the large drum 71 and arranged to rotate with said drum. A rocker lever 90 is pivoted at 91 on the sub-frame 69. At one end this lever carries a folower roller 92, the roller being maintained in contact with the cam G by the coil spring 93, one end of which is anchored to the sub-frame and the other end of which is connected to the rocker lever 90. The other end of the lever 90 is connected by a link 94 to the forward edge of the transposing plate G. Thus the motion of the rocker lever 90 in following the plate cam during its rotation with the drum will be correspondingly transmitted to the transposing plate G. Different transpositions of the lines of type characters may be accomplished by providing diiierently arranged plate cams G and changing these cams when different transpositions are desired or required.

The paper sheet carriage, Figs. 6 and 7, has a downwardly inclined sheet guide which directs the sheet in proper relation to the printing position. The sheet is intermittently fed to the printing position by the feed rolls 96 and 97 between which the sheet is gripped. The upper roll 96 is yieldingly mounted in the carriage frame so that the proper gripping action will be maintained on the sheet between the two rolls. The lower feed roll is journaled in suitable bearings in the ends of the carriage frame and, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, this shaft extends beyond the right hand end of the carriage frame and carries a beveled gear 98 which is driven by a corresponding beveled gear 99 on the short vertical shaft 100 mounted on an arm 101 of the carriage frame. A ratchet wheel 102 is connected to drive the beveled gear 99 and this ratchet is operated by a ratchet lever 103 which has a spring pressed pawl 10 1 engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheel. This ratchet is arranged to swing one end outwardly by a spring 105 connected between the other end of the lever and the carriage frame. An adjustable stop 166 is mounted on the sub-frame 69 in position to engage the end of the ratchet lever as the carriage approaches the limit of its movement on the return stroke to the right, Fig. 8. This drives the beveled gears and rotates the feed rollers and the sheet will be fed forward to space one line 0t impressions on the sheet from the line previously printed.

The shifting of the sheet carriage, as hereinbetore referred to, is accomplished by the mechanism associated with the large drum 71, Figs. 1, 2, 4:, 5, and 8 to 11. The drum 71, Fig. 5, is rotatably mounted on a stud shaft on the sub-frame 69, the hub 111 of the drum extending the full length of the shaft. A ratchet arm 112 has a sleeve hub 113 which is rotatable on the hub 111 of the drum, and this ratchet arm at its outer end has a depending stud 114 which carries a pawl 115. The ratchet arm and pawl 115 are oscillated about its pivot, in proper timed relation to the printing operations, by means of the sliding rack 116 and segmental gear 117, Fig. 2. The rack slides in a suitable guideway 113 on the sub-frame and is reciprocated by the segment gear 117 which is pivotally mounted at 117' on an upstanding arm of the sub-frame. The segment gear is operated by the platen. arm through the medium of the link 119 and the motion of the rack 116 is imparted to the ratchet arm 112 by the link 120. A ratchet wheel 121 is fastened to the hub of the drum so that when the ratchet is rotated the drum will be correspondingly rotated. This ratchet has a series of notches 122 in its periphery corresponding to the several steps in which the carriage is shifted. As the ratchet wheel is stepped around one notch at a time during each cycle of printing operation the carriage will accordingly be shifted a corresponding step at a time. A spring actuated holding pawl 123 is mounted on an arm 124 of the sub-frame and its end 125 is positioned so that it will engage each notch 122, Fig. 8, to hold the ratchet wheel in the position to which it has been rotated while the pawl 115 is swung to engage the next notch 122. In this manner the carriage is advanced step by step to the left by the ratchet arm 112 and its pawl 115.

A kick-out disk 126 is mounted on the drum hub 111, Fig. 5, but is rotatable thereon. This disk is located immediately above the ratchet wheel and has a pin 127 which is adapted, during the rotation of the ratchet wheel, to be engaged by a pin 128 on said ratchet wheel for rotating the kick-out disk against the tension of a coil spring 129. This spring surrounds the ratchet arm hub 113 and is connected at its upper end to said hub and at its lower end to the kick-out disk Fig. 5. The disk has a notch 130 in its periphery Figs. 8 to 11 which is adapted to be engaged by the pawl 115 whereby the disk will be further rotated by said pawl. This notch is higher than the periphery of the ratchet wheel so that when the pawl 115 engages the notch 130, the ratchet wheel will be released and will be rotated in reverse direction together with the drum by the spring 74, thereby returning the carriage to its normal position.

The stationary arm 124 on the sub-frame has an end 124/ which extends downwardly and overlies the edge of the ratchet wheel and kick-out disk, Figs. 4 and 5. The end 124 of this arm is positioned at the limit of the return stroke of the pawl 115 so that the pawl 115 will ride up on this end 124'. The kick-out disk has a pin 133 Figs. 8 to 11 which engages with the arm 124 to serve as a stop for the kick-out disk when it returns to normal position. The kick-out disk also has an inwardly beveled shoulder 134 which engages the holding pawl 123 when the disk is in normal position.

The operation of the carriage shifting mecha nism is as follows:

Referring first to Fig. 3 the parts are shown in the starting position of a cycle of operation of the machine. The carriage is in position at the right hand limit of its movement, and the sheet has been advanced one space by the feed rolls and is in position to receive the first impression of a line of characters. The ratchet pawl 115 is in the kick-out notch 130 of the disk. The kick-out disk is in the position to which it was rotated by the pawl during the last step of the previous cycle of operation and hence is under the influence of the coil spring 129. The holding pawl 123 has its end 125 resting on the end of the ratchet pawl 115. As the platen arm goes down to print the first line of characters on the sheet, the ratchet pawl 115, through the medium of the rack and segment 116 and 117, is carried in clockwise direction until it rides up on. the fixed member 124'. The kick-out disk, under the influence of coil spring 129, follows the pawl until the pawl 115 rides up on the member 124. This releases the pawl from engagement with the notch in said kick-out disk and the kick-out disk continues to rotate in the same direction until the pin 133 stops against the arm 124. The holding pawl 123 does not interfere with the rotation of the kick-out disk because its notch 130 is deep enough only for the end of the ratchet pawl 115, hence the pawl 115 prevents the holding pawl from entering said notch and causes notch 130 to pass the holding pawl. By this time the platen arm will have printed the first line of characters on the sheet. The platen arm starts on its upward or return stroke. The pawl 115 rides down 011 of member 124', moves in a counter clockwise direction, and rides the periphery of the ratchet wheel until it engages the first ratchet notch 122 thereby carrying the ratchet wheel to the position shown in Fig. 9. In this position the holding pawl has moved into engagement with the notch 122 to hold the ratchet wheel against the reverse movement.

The above operation advances the sheet carriage i one step and places the sheet in position to receive the next impression. The transposing plate G, through the cam 81 previously described, shifts the printing plate to select the next line to be printed.

The platen arm now goes down to print this 2nd selected line and as it does it moves the pawl 115 in a clockwise direction. The pawl 115 rides upon the member 124'. The platen arm then starts upwardly on its return stroke and moves the pawl 115 in a counter clockwise direction, and as it does it engages the next ratchet notch 122 and imparts rotation to the ratchet wheel and shifts the sheet carriage another step to the left. The transposing plate G will also operate at this time to shift the printing plate and select the next line of characters for the 3rd printing operation.

This brings the parts to the position shown in Fig. 10, with the holding pawl 123 in engagement with the ratchet notch 122 and the pin 128 in engagement with the pin 127. The platen arm now moves downwardly to print the 3rd selected line, and moves the pawl 115 in the clockwise direction and the pawl 115 rides upon the member 124'. The platen arm now moves upwardly on its return stroke and moves the pawl 115 in the counter clockwise direction, the pawl rides down off the member 124, engages the next notch 122 of the ratchet wheel, rotates the ratchet wheel and shifts the carriage its last step to the left. During this movement of the ratchet wheel the kick-out disk through engagement of pins 128 ant 127, will be rotated in a counter clockwise direction. The transposing plate operates at the same time to select the next line of the printing plate for the 4th printing operation.

This places the parts in the position shown in Fig. 11 with the holding pawl 123 engaging the ratchet notch 122, and the kick-out disk in position with its notch 130 beyond the member 124'. The platen arm now goes down to print the selected line, and as it does, it moves the ratchet pawl 115 in the clockwise direction until it rides upon the member 124. The platen arm now starts upwardly on its return stroke and moves the pawl 115 in a counter clockwise direction. This time the pawl 115 engages the high notch 130 of the kick-out disk and carries this disk with it to the position shown in Fig. 8. As the pawl 115 reaches the position shown in Fig. 8 it kick out the holding pawl 123 from engagement with the last notch 122 of the ratchet wheel, this being due to the fact that the notch 130 of the kick-out is higher than the periphery of the ratchet wheel, as hereinbefore described. Kicking out the pawl 123 releases the ratchet wheel and allows said ratchet wheel and the drum '71 to rotate in a clockwise direction under the infiuence of spring 4 thus restoring the carriage to normal position by moving it to the right the full length of its movement. This, of course, causes the ratchet lever 103 to engage the stop 106 and rotate the grip rollers to feed the sheet one space. The parts are now restored to the position shown in Fig. 8, ready to repeat the cycle of operations just described.

I am aware that changes in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, and I reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a printing machine of the class described, the combination of means for successively feed ing printing devices to printing position, a sheet carriage adapted to move the sheet relatively to printing position, and transposing means for shifting the printing device to present difierent printing characters to printing position and including changeable means for varying the operation of the transposing means.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for feeding into printing position printing devices each having a plurality of groups'of printing characters thereon, a sheet carriage movable relative to printing position to successively present portions of the sheet to printing position, means for moving the sheet carriage, and transposing means for shifting the printing means relative to printing position to successively present groups of printing characters individually to printing position and including changeable means for varying the order of presentation of the groups of printing characters to printing position.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for feeding into printing position printing devices each having a plurality of lines of characters, a sheet carriage movable relatively to printing position to present successive portions of a sheet to printing position, and transposing means for shifting the printing device relatively to printing position to present its several lines of characters individually to printing position and including changeable means for varying the order of presentation of the lines of characters to printing position.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a printing device feeding mechanism for successively advancing to printing po sition printing devices each having a plurality of lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for printing one line of said printing device at a time upon the sheet, means for shifting the carriage to present a new portion of the sheet for each printing operation, and transposing means actuated with the carriage for moving the printing device to select the lines of characters to be printed on the sheet and including changeable means for varying the selection of the lines of characters.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a printing device feeding mechanism for successively feeding to printing position printing devices each having a plurality of lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for shifting the carriage to present successive portions thereof across the sheet to printing position, and a transposing mechanism for shifting the printing device in printing position relatively to the line of movement of the sheet to selectively present the several lines of characters to printing position and including changeable means for varying the selection of the lines of characters.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a printing device feeding mechanism for successively feeding to printing position printing devices each having a plurality of lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for shifting the carriage to present successive portions thereof across the sheet to printing position, a transposing mechanism actuated with the carriage for shifting the printing devices in printing devices inprinting position relatively to the line of movement of the sheet toselectively present the several lines of characters to printing position and including changeable means for varying the selection of the lines of characters,

and means for delaying the feeding mechanism until the several lines of a printing device have been printed.

7. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of a feeding mechanism for successively advancing individual printing devices into printing position, a transposing mechanism, means responsive to the transposing mechanism for shifting the printing device in printing position to selectively present its individual lines of printing characters for successive printing operations, means for feeding a sheet crosswise to present successive portions in alignment to receive the impressions from the individual lines of characters in the order of selection of said lines, and

' changeable means in said transposing mechanism for varying the order of selection of said lines.

8. In a machine of the class described, the

combination ofa feeding mechanism for succes- 20 sively feeding individual printing devices each having a plurality of parallel lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for moving the sheet carriage relative to printing position to receive from the printing device successive impressions in alignment across the sheet, means for shifting the printing device to successively present the individual lines of characters thereof to printing position, and means controlled by the movement of said sheet carriage for. operating said shifting means to select the order'in which the individual lines shall be printed on the sheet.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a feeding mechanism for successively feeding individual printing devices each having a plurality of parallel lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for moving the sheet carriage relative to the printing position to receive from the printing device successive impressions in alignment across the sheet, means for shifting the printing device to successively present the individual lines of characters thereof ,to printing position, means controlled by the movement of said sheet carriage for operating said shifting means to select the order in which the individual lines shall be printed on the sheet, and means for delayingthe printing device feeding mechanism until the printing of the lines of characters has been completed.

10. In a machine of theclass described, the combination of means for feeding individual printing devices each having a plurality of lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for successively operating said feed carriage to move different portions of the sheet to printing position, a selector device engaging the printing device for shifting the printing device to present its individual lines of printing characters to printing position, means actuated by said selector device and operating in timed relation to the movement of the carriage for operating said selector device to determine the order in which said lines of printing characters on the printing device are presented to printing position, and changeable means in said selector device for varying the order of selection of said lines.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for feeding individual printing devices each having a plurality of lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for successively operating said feed carriage to move different portions of the sheet to printing position, a shifting deviceengaging a printing d vice for shifting said printing device to present its individual lines of printing characters to printing position, a selector cam arranged to determine the operation of said shifting device, and means controlled bythe movement of the carriage for operating said cam.

12. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for feeding individual printing devices each having a plurality of lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for successively operating said feed carriage to move different portions of the sheet to printing position, a shifting device engaging a printing device for shifting said printing device to present its individual lines of printing characters to printing position, a selector cam arranged to determine the operation of said shifting device, and means on the carriage engaging the cam for operating the cam in accordance with the movement of the carriage.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for feeding individual printing devices each having a plurality of lines of printing characters, a sheet carriage, means for successively operating said feed carriage to move different portions of the sheet to printing position, a shifting device engaging a printing device for shifting said printing device to present its indio vidual lines of printing characters to printing position, a selector cam arranged to determine the operation of said shifting device, means on the carriage engaging the cam for operating the cam in accordance with the movement of the carriage,

and means operating in timed relation to the printing operationsfor actuating said printing device feeding mechanism to advance the next printing device to printing position after the several lines of a printing device have been printed.

14. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a printing device feeding mechanism, a selector device for shifting a printing device to present its different printing characters to printing position and comprising a cam memher having spring fingers for yieldingly locking the printing device to said selector device, a sheet carriage movable to present successive portions of the sheet to printing position in a line crosswise of the sheet, and means controlled by the .LLU

V 15. In a machine of the class described, the W combination of a printing device feeding mechanism, a selector device for shifting a printing device to present its different printing characters to printing position and comprising a cam member having spring fingers for yieldingly locking the printing device to said selector device, a sheet carriage movable to present successive portions to printing position in a line crosswise of the sheet, means on the carriage for engaging said cam member to control the operation of said selector device, and'means operating said printing device feeding mechanism in timed relation to the printing operations for disengaging a printing device from said spring fingers and engaging the next successive plate therewith.

16. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a bed, a printing device guideway, means for intermittently advancing printing devices along said guideway to said bed, a selector device having spring fingers for engaging the edge of a printing device on the bed, and means for operating said selector device to shift the printing device in either direction relatively to the bed to present different portions of said printing device to printing position.

17. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of a bed, a printing device guideway, means for intermittently advancing printing devices along said guideway to said bed, a selector device having spring fingers for engaging the edge of a printing device on the bed, means for shifting said selector device in either direction relatively to the bed to present different portions of said printing device to printing position, and means for shifting a sheet in a straight line transverse to the line of movement of the printing device on the bed to present a different portion on the sheet for receiving impressions from the different portions of the printing device.

18. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a bed, means for shifting a printing device on the bed back and forth to select different portions of the printing device for printing operation, feeding mechanism for advancing printing devices to said shifting means, means for presenting the sheet to printing position, and a reciprocating platen for impressing the sheet upon each portion of the printing device as it is selected.

19. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a bed, means for shifting a printing device on the bed back and forth to select difierent portions of the printing device for printing operation, feeding mechanism for advancing printing devices to said shifting means to printing position, means for shifting the sheet in a line transverse to the back and forth movement of the printing device to present a new portion of the sheet for each printing operation and a reciprocating platen for impressing the sheet upon each portion of the printing device.

20. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a bed, feeding mechanisms for successively advancing printing devices to the bed, means for shifting a printing device on the bed back and forth to select different portions of the printing device for printing operation, a sheet carriage for presenting the sheet to printing position, a reciprocating platen for impressing the sheet upon each portion of the printing device as it is selected, and means connected to the reciprocating platen for shifting the sheet carriage in a line transverse to the back and forth movement of the printing device after each printing operation.

21. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a bed, a guideway, feeding mechanism for intermittently advancing printing de-' vices along said guideway to the bed, and a selector device for moving a printing device back and forth on the bed and comprising a plate member adjacent the bed and having spring fingers to engage the printing device when it is moved onto the bed, a cam member on said plate for determining the movements of the selector device, and means for operating said cam.

22. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a bed, a guideway, feeding mech anism for intermittently advancing printing devices along said guideway to the bed, and a selector device for moving a printing device back and forth on the bed and comprising a plate member adjacent the bed and having spring fingers to engage the printing device when it is moved onto the bed, a cam member on said plate for determining the movements of the selector device, a sheet carriage movable transversely to the selective movements of the printing device, and means on said carriage for operating said cam as the carriage moves.

HENRY E. HUBBARD. 

